Born to Run
Written by Michael Morpurgo
Narrated by Isla Blair
4/5
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About this audiobook
Joy and heartbreak combine in this bittersweet tale of a champion greyhound’s journey through life – and from owner to owner…
“The sack wasn't just drifting gently along like everything else, it was turning of its own accord. There was definitely something inside it, struggling against the side of the plastic bag, kicking at it, squeaking and squealing in terror. He had no idea what it might be, only that it was alive and in danger of drowning.”
When Patrick saves a litter of greyhound puppies from the canal, he can’t bear to hand them all over to the RSPCA. He pleads with his parents: couldn’t he just keep one of them? But nothing will convince them and Patrick cries himself to sleep – only to be woken by a greyhound puppy licking his face!
Patrick christens his puppy Best Mate, and that’s what he becomes. Patrick’s favourite thing is to watch Best Mate running at full stretch on the heath, a speeding bullet, a cheetah-dog. Until one day Best Mate is kidnapped by a greyhound trainer, and begins a new life as a champion race dog. Suzie, the greyhound trainer’s step-daughter, loves Best Mate on first sight and gives him a new name, Bright Eyes. But what will happen when he can’t run any more?
Michael Morpurgo
Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE FRSL FKC DL is a writer, playwright, performer and librettist. The author of more than 150 children’s books, he has sold over 35 million copies worldwide and in almost 40 languages. A former teacher and vocal spokesperson for the benefits of reading for pleasure, he is currently the President of Book Trust. Between 2003–2005 he was Children’s Laureate and in 2018 he was knighted for services to literature and charity. Many of Michael’s books have been adapted for stage and screen, including the phenomenal National Theatre adaptation of War Horse, which has been seen by over 10 million people in over 100 cities around the world, broke the West End record for weekly ticket sales, and won 5 Tony Awards and 2 Olivier Awards. Michael is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children.
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Reviews for Born to Run
18 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved it! It was really good and exciting. I particularly liked Patrick he was so brave and loved dogs like I do! But I was VERY irritated by the lollipop man, Mr boots! Very good highly recommend it. I also felt furious at the previous owners fancy throwing them in the river I am fuming at them! Some of my favourite Micheal morpurgo books are adolnphus tips *(excuse spelling!) And kaspar prince of cats i also like Alice through the looking glass which I wrote a review on. I also recommend pages and co by Anna James* as you can probs guess my bookshelf is pretty full ! Sorry if this is too long a review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(too many exclamation marks!)
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The story and the narration were brilliant - my children loved listening to it. The storyline was captivating and gave us unique insights into a small variety of characters. We love Michael Morporgo stories! The narration was incredibly engaging and beautifully performed.
What could be improved was the structure of the audio chapters - they were rather random and it made it difficult to track where you are at. (I know you can book mark but with 3 children trying to catch up after one was on camp and another one was sick, they were all at different spots and it was hard trying to find who was where.) - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A friend of mine received this fro Christmas so, of course, I had to borrow this book thinking Mr. Grippando was a new writer. Well, he is, to me but no longer.This is a thrilling, fast-paced mystery and though you will probably figure out the ending, it will keep you interested to the end.Filled with government types, hit men, lawyers, thugs, and all around "good guys" and one badly-used Bullitt-like Mustang, this is a really good yarn indeed.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another fastly paced plot in the JACK SWYTECK series...although I enjoyed this thriller, it wasn't up to the level of the previous novels in this series...but, it is by one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite characters and it kept my interest down to the usual GRIPPANDO TWIST ending.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Quick, light read. Nothing spectacular. The narration was bland. It was fun enough to finish, but not interesting enough for me to rewind to hear parts I missed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of Grippando's best.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5James Grippando's 'Born to Run,' although a part of the Jack Swyteck series, works well as a stand alone novel; it was my first Grippando read. Briefly, Jack, son of former governor Harry Swyteck, is a Miami trial lawyer with a penchant for defending hopeless cases. The novel begins with the Everglades demise of the current vice president and Harry's selection as the next VP. Jack tags along to Washington and the plot thickens when he receives a call offering to make his father the next president. Now mix in an immoral White House intern, a relentless CNN reporter, a mysterious Greek, the Mafia, and Jack's 'new' green Mustang and we're ready to run. This is more a series mystery than a political thriller - Jack and his cohorts are the stars, and, I assume, well liked by regular readers. It's a quick, undemanding read, with emphasis on quick. Read this only if you have no plans to ponder the plotting and are willing to go big into suspension of disbelief. Three stars: good enough to finish, but not good enough to keep.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My first James Grippando and I enjoyed it very much.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The audio has a click in it. Not able to stomach the noise in order to listen, unfortunately.